Computer runnung slow and erratic

I would press F2 when prompted to get into BIOS Setup, then look for a way to load default settings (usually press a Fn key), then save and exit, see if that resolves the ROM BIOS prompt.

(usually press a Fn key) What key is the Fn key that you put in your previous post? I removed IE8 and it hasn't fixed the problem.

I was finally able to boot in safe mode by tapping F8. It seemed like it was online because the toolbars were there as well as my bookmarks. Even when I clicked on the google button, the back arrow lit up as if everything was working except there was nothing else on the screen. IE wouldn't get online at all. Even though I couldnt browse the net, I could still tell that I was having the same problem.

If you wanted to be able to go online, you needed to choose Safe Mode with Networking from the F8 menu.

Since you say you are still having the problem in Safe Mode, then it's not anything starting at boot time that is causing the problem.

Perhaps this is hardware induced? Have you checked the inside of the computer to see if it's very dusty? That can cause heat buildup which can cause hangs and lockups.

Look in Event Viewer and see if any errors are being logged (they will be in RED)

Click Start then Run, type eventvwr.msc and press Enter or click OK

Look in all three categories listed on the left. Double click on any error to look at the details. Use the arrows to move up and down in the events listed. Post the data here. If it's more than a couple, copy the data to notepad and save as a .txt file, then use the Browse and Upload buttons below the message input are to upload the txt file here, then click on the Manage Current Attachments box to paste a link to the upload file so we can look at it.

To copy data to notepad, you first have to copy it to the clipboard. You do this by clicking on the icon of two pages under the up and down arrows on the right side of the window. Then you paste the info into notepad.

Copy data from a Command Prompt window
To copy data from a command prompt window, do the following:

• Right click on the top window border (usually blue) and select Edit then Mark.
• Use the left mouse button to highlight the text you want to copy, then click the right mouse button.

I understand how to get into the eventvwr and double clicking on the error messages, but when I click on the icon under the arrows, nothing happens. Your instructions say that the icon is the clipboard and that I have to copy and paste that into a notepad, but I have no idea how to do that. Where do I see all the info to copy and paste it to a notepad? How do I open up a notepad to paste that info into it? I am definitely lost with this one. Can you please write me back and explain step by step how to do this? I tried to look through google for instructions but couldn't find any. Just to let you know there are a whole bunch of errors. The list is going to be very very long. Steve

When you click on the icon, the data is copied to the clipboard, which is just an area in memory. You can then sipply paste it into a reply here.

Since there is a lot though, it would be far easier to select Application, then click on Action and Save Log File As and save the entire log to your hard drive. Repeat for Security if there are any errors there and also for System.

Once you have the saved logs, zip them up into one zip file or individually if the single one is too large to upload here, then use the Browse and Upload buttons to upload them to a reply here, then click on Manage Current Attachments then click on the first icon. That will place a link for the selected file in your reply.

[attachment removed: event_viewer_errors.zip] I hope this was done correctly.

That was perfect, thanks.

You have some significant hard drive errors recorded. Please follow directions here: How to run CHKDSK in Windows XP, see if that helps.

After that completes, check to see if your hard drive is running in DMA Mode as follows:

• Right click on My Computer and select Properties
• Click on the Hardware tab then the Device Manager button
• Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
• Double click on Primary IDE Channel;
• Click the Advanced Settings tab
• Transfer Mode should be DMA if available and Current Transfer Mode should be a DMA value, not PIO

Let me know what it's set to.

The first time I attempted the chkdsk scan it got hung up and froze on step 2 (verifying indexes). I had to do a manual reboot and the next time it went through the entire scan. When the scan was finished and it attempted to restart, the computer got stuck on the ROM BIOS page again and I had to do a manual power down. When I powered back on it went through start up normally. I am assuming the scan took effect but I dont know for sure since it got hung up on the ROM BIOS (but that was after the scan and it started up fine the next time). When I checked your second set of instructions there was a section under device 0 where the transfer mode was PIO only and current transfer mode was PIO mode. Under the device 1 section it showed the transfer mode at DMA if available and current transfer mode was Ultra DMA Mode 2. I am assuming that the device 0 that was present doesnt really mean much (maybe thats why I am getting the diskette drive 0 seek failure when in ROM BIOS). My computer is still behaving the exact same way.

I just attempted to do a complete system scan using Malwarebytes' Anit-Malware program and after about 25 minutes a scary Stop Error Screen appeared saying that "A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer". I have never seen this before even when my old hard drive completely crashed. I am hoping you know what I am referring to because there was quite a bit of info on the screen that I wrote down on paper, and I don't want to have to type it all if you are already familiar with it. It said it was a "Kernel_Stack_Inpage_Error" and at the bottom it read "beginning dump of physical memory". If you need to know more about what it said than just ask. It seems that more and more bad stuff is happening with this computer. I have no $$ for a new hard drive so I really need to fix this if at all possible. Do you think you have a good idea of what is causing the problem and how to fix it?

Unfortunately, it does sound like the hard drive is dying. You can get a replacement 7200 RPM IDE driver for $35 to $50. For example, this one is $34.99 + Shipping: http://www.goharddrive.com/White-Label-120…-p/g01-0055.htm

I know you said you don't have the money for this, but sooner is better than later. If you can get one soon, you can clone your current drive to the new one, then remove the old and boot the new and not miss a beat. If you wait too long, the current hard drive may die completely then you will have to start over from scratch.

I hope you've created your recovery/rescue disks or have a recovery CD from the computer manufacturer.

As for DMA / PIO mode. Is Device 0 your hard drive or an optical drive? If it's your hard drive, then being in PIO mode just confirms that it's failing, as XP will drop to PIO mode if the drive is throwing a lot of errors.

I do not know how to do the following: "I hope you've created your recovery/rescue disks or have a recovery CD from the computer manufacturer." Do you have a link to where I can also find out how to clone the current drive to a new one? Since there are errors and other things on the current hard drive that have made my computer behave erratically (the freezing as well as the long loading times when changing web pages), would those things transfer over to the new hard drive? I have no idea what the Device 0 was. How would I find out if it is my hard drive or an optical device?

To clone your hard drive, you can use a program called HD CLone. It has a free version. It's runs slower than the paid for version but works well, Iv'e used it many times.

Can you take a picture of the Device Manager window that shows Device 0 as you mentioned,then upload it here?

How to capture a screen image
How to upload an image to your post

For instance, on my Windows 7 system, it looks like this:
📎ChanProp.png

Before I follow your last set of instructions I was wondering if you can take a look at this hard drive really quick to see if it is similar to one you showed me, as well as tell me if it is decent quality ( I dont need anything fancy)?

http://3btech.net/whlamadate122.html

Here is the screen shot you requested. I had to shrink it a little because when I tried to upload the original it said it was to big. 📎Device_Manager_Screen_Shot_1.bmp